[Review] Bread: The Ultimate Cookbook by editors of Cider Mill Press

Omgz! I'm giddy over how much I love this book.

I was hooked right from the start. I don't know about you, but for me, the introductions in books usually feel unnecessary. But this one brought tears to my eyes with its empowering message. And yet it still got better from there.

This book discusses the science behind bread making, the history of bread making, the tools involved, techniques, different grains (there are a surprising amount) and non-grain flours (coffee? really?), and then the best part—the recipes!

The recipes are fantastic. I love the inclusion of the ancient recipes, as well as recipes from all over the world. Bob, my sourdough starter (yep, that's a nod to Kingfisher), has been languishing in the fridge. But I've already pulled him out. Now I just need to decide which recipe to try first. It's going to be something ancient, because that sounds super exciting to me. (And no, you don't need to fiddle with sourdough, if that's not your thing. There are plenty of yeast based recipes in this book too).

One last thing, before I run off to the kitchen... If you've done a lot of bread baking, particularly with sourdough, you're likely familiar with those really, really, long recipes that are multiple pages; and ugh, you have to read over the directions so many times, because there's so much there. With this book, the directions are surprisingly concise, which I love, love, love.

If you like making bread, buy this book. I'm buying this book, because even though I already have a digital copy, I need a hard copy too!

Note: I received this book as an ARC, post factum. It was released January 14, 2025.

5 stars